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091816-A Wager of Nature
10:25 LL: Dymfna, there's a soft knock at your bedroom door. 10:26 GC: Brushing off the dirt on her hands, she turns towards it. "Come in." 10:27 LL: A servant opens the door. "Miss Dysthe, your father commands your presence in the audience chamber." 10:28 GC: Her face lights up. "Oh good. I was hoping to give him this rose root bouqet." She wipes the rest of the dirt on her dress, grabs the vase of rose roots, and follows the servant. 10:32 LL: Curtseying, the human servant leads the way, through the ruins of the Summer Chateau. You arrive at a large audience chamber, where your father is looking bored. His eyes light up upon seeing you. "Dymfna! Are you ready for another lesson?" 10:34 GC: Smiling as wide as possible, she sets the vase down close to her father. "I'm always ready for one of your lessons. Is it open debate this time, or more lecture based?" 10:34 LL: "A wager." 10:35 GC: "Before you tell me the conditions, what are the stakes? I don't want to place my wager too low if I think you'll win." 10:36 LL: "I have gotten you something like a gift, my dear, but you know how I love to help you learn. This is merely an experiment in human nature. If you lose, you'll likely get the gift regardless, but possibly a few more chores." 10:36 GC: "Fair enough. Ok, Father. What aspect of human nature shall we test today?" 10:38 LL: "Their tendency towards betrayal." His smile is predatory. "I have two prisoners, accused of murdering a member of the palace guard. It is not a question of if they will betray each other, but who will betray the other first. We're going to place them into the classic Prisoner's Dilemma." 10:40 GC: "Are we each to take a prisoner and see who can last the longest before their prisoner betrays the other?" 10:41 LL: "No, you will merely be permitted to see the two prisoners. I wish to test your ability to see treachery in a human face." 10:43 GC: Dymfna bows her head slightly, still smiling. "As you will, Father." 10:44 LL: He reaches to the table beside his chair, and offers a small folder to Dymfna. "Their photographs, and a description of the crime." 10:44 GC: Dymfna takes the folder, rocking back and forth on her heels as she looks through it. She reads the description of the crime first. 10:47 LL: It appears two human men broke into the palace and killed the guard who was standing outside your bedroom last night, and one of your tutors who had come running when he heard the commotion. Another guard who also heard the commotion managed to stop them. It appears you were the target, though if it was for murder or a hostage situation is unknown. There are two photographs included, that depict t 10:47 LL: wo young human men with pale skin. One has sandy-blonde hair and blue eyes, the other black hair and green eyes. 10:50 GC: Hmm. Father only mentioned the murdered palace guard, nothing about her tutor. She takes a closer look at the blonde human, taking note of posture and facial expressions. She wonders if she'll be allowed to actually see the prisoners, or only pictures. 10:53 LL: He seems to be slumping a bit, not looking directly at the camera. 10:55 GC: Well that could go many ways. Defiance, guilt, nerves. She sighs and looks at the other human. 10:56 LL: The dark haired prisoner is looking into the camera, but his eyes seem hopeless and empty. You see the edge of a tattoo poking out of the collar of his t-shirt. 10:58 GC: She closes the folder and hands it back to her father. "Based on these photos, I have made my decision. The blonde will give away his partner first." 11:02 LL: He nods, and takes the folder, then motions to one of the guards. 11:05 LL: The two prisoners are dragged into the room. You can see that their tongues have been cut out, and the number of guards around them prevent them from seeing each other. Your father steeples his fingers. "We have you both dead to rights on trespassing, and breaking and entering, but we don't know which of you struck the killing blows. So, if the innocent one of you tells me, I will grant them a par 11:05 LL: don, and the other will be executed. If you do not confess, I will keep you imprisoned for twenty-five years for trespassing." 11:07 GC: Dymfna waits quietly, smiling as she watches the prisoners. There was no way she could be wrong about this one. She wouldn't have to listen to Father's superior lecture at dinner tonight... maybe. 11:22 LL: Sure enough, you are correct. In a few moments, the blonde caves, writing out a confession indicating the dark-haired human. 11:22 LL: Your father nods, and waves his hand. Both men are immediately executed. 11:23 LL: "Good work, Dymfna. You are proving to be every inch as intelligent as I suspected." 11:23 GC: Her smile falters slightly. "It's not like you to break your word, Father, though both men surely deserved it." 11:26 LL: "They were condemned from the beginning. The blonde killed your guard, the dark-haired, your tutor." 11:28 GC: "Of course." She glances at the blood on the floor, her smile returning. "I enjoyed this wager Father. Hopefully the next lesson will be soon. May I see this gift?" 11:29 LL: "It is not a gift that may be seen. I am giving you the gift of choice." He smiles. 11:30 GC: Well, she wasn't expecting that at all. She hesistates a bit before asking "A choice of little consequence, I'm sure?" 11:31 LL: "Heavy Consequence. You will decide whether we will continue serving the Autocrat, or if we will instead pledge our allegiance to the Lawmaker." 11:32 GC: Dymfna's eyebrows furrow in concentration, trying to remember what she knows of these two trolls. 11:42 GC: Things under the Autocrat haven't exactly been working out so well. Doing the same thing expecting a different result... "If you are offering me this choice, then you must be okay with either decision. I think we should change things up a bit here. We've listened to the Autocrat long enough, even if he did place you as governor. Let's try the Lawmaker, see what he can do to stop this war with the 11:42 GC: humans." She leans over and sniffs the rose roots. "It's about time we analyze our own nature, and I think this should do the trick." 11:44 LL: He nods. "Very well. You will be sent to Castle Calier, where you will be my liaison to the Lawmaker." 11:46 GC: "Will you openly denounce the Autocrat? Or am I to play down our new alliance, if the Lawmaker so agrees?" 11:47 LL: "Once you have finished negotiations with the Lawmaker, I will publically support whatever decision you make." 11:48 GC: "And is there anything I must hold firm on in these negotiations?" 11:48 LL: "That I retain control of Earth. The rest is negotiable." 11:51 GC: She leans down and hugs her father, a toothy smile splitting her face, eyes crinkled in joy. "I won't let you down, Father, I'll make the best deal ever. And I'll be ready to go as soon as you wish." She stands up straight, eyes bright with this chance. 11:52 LL: "Good. You leave tomorrow. Your servants will pack your bags while we have dinner. I've taken the liberty of securing a few troll tags of other children in the Lawmaker's Castle. You may use them to attempt to make friends." He offers you a small piece of paper. 11:54 GC: She takes the paper, slowly reading it over before placing it in her sylladex. 11:55 LL: "So, shall we have dinner?" 11:55 GC: "Dinner sounds delightful." Category:Dymfna Category:Fatalist